1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plant watering device, and in particular to a plant watering device which supplies water at a predetermined rate to plants so that the plants may be left unattended when the owner is away. The plant watering device of the invention requires no brackets or mounting hardware, but rather may simply be positioned directly on the soil adjacent the plant to be watered. Preferably, the watering device has an ornamental appearance.
2. Description of Related Art
A number of designs have been proposed for automatically supplying water to houseplants. These include the "Self Watering Flower Pot" of U.S. Pat. No. 1,063,395, the "Watering Attachment For Flower Pots" of U.S. Pat. No. 1,231,975, the "Plant Waterer" of U.S. Pat. No. 1,453,401, the "Water Tender" of U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,934, the "Plant Watering And Feeding Stake" of U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,706, the "Automatic Watering Device For Plants" of U.S. Pat. No. 4,825,591, and the "Self-Watering Apparatus For Plant" of U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,494.
These automatic plant watering devices generally fall into one of two categories. The first category of watering device is represented by the devices described in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,060,934, 4,825,591, and 5,848,494, which valves or other mechanisms designed to vary the flow of water to the plant based on the amount of moisture in the soil. While devices with variable flow are useful in environments where water consumption varies significantly due to environmental conditions, houseplants are typically kept in a controlled or constant environment, and therefore such variable flow control is not necessary.
The present invention belongs to the second category of watering devices, represented by the plant watering devices described in the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,063,401, 1,231,975, and 1,453,401, all of which supply water to the plant at a preset rate rather than with variable flow or moisture feedback. However, each of the devices disclosed in these patents requires a relatively complex structure for positioning the devices above the soil to be watered, for example by mounting the devices on the rim of a flower pot. The need for mounting hardware not only makes the prior devices unduly high in cost and inconvenient for many potential users, limiting the settings in which the devices can be used, but the associated brackets, clamps, hoses, and the like tend to detract from the natural appearance of the plant to be watered.
A third category of self-watering devices which seeks to provide a more attractive appearance is represented by the Christmas tree watering devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,311,270 ("Automatic Water Dispenser For Christmas Tree Stands"), 4,993,176 (Christmas Tree Stand Watering System"), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,867,929 ("E-Z Christmas Tree Waterer"). However, the designs of these devices is fundamentally different than those of the plant watering devices described above because Christmas trees are typically placed in a container of water rather than planted in soil, and thus the watering devices must be designed to dispense directly into the pool of water. Placement of a tube into the pool provides an inherent means of flow control, but on the other hand necessitates suspension of the watering device above the pool.
In contrast to all of the watering devices mentioned above, the present invention seeks to dispense water to the soil surrounding a living plant upon simply being placed beside the plant, without the need for attachment of mounting hardware, insertion of tubes, or the like. As a result, the invention provides a watering device that is especially simple in construction and attractive, and yet that is easier to use than any of the prior designs.